Stratford Digital has released the first members of the MX Series of embedded control modules. These compact modules (65×50mm) are pre-engineered to provide a robust platform for many embedded control products. This series of control modules are both electrically and mechanically interchangeable.

“We design embedded systems for many clients with low- and mid-volume quantities,” explains James Morrison, CEO of Stratford Digital. For these clients the level of cost and effort required for a fully custom solution represents a significant risk. This series of robust, pre-engineered modules reduces the cost and risk of development and gets the client to market faster with a product of higher quality.”

“We see many clients using development boards to rapidly develop their embedded systems. But since issues like signal integrity, ESD, EMI and power distribution are not typically addressed in the ultra-low-cost development board design these development boards are not robust enough to be used in the final product. As a result the hardware has to be redesigned (often from scratch) and the firmware ported to the new board adding significant time and risk,’ Morrison elaborates. ‘The MX Series modules are designed with these issues in mind and thus the client can develop on the same platform that will be used in the final product.”

Firmware development can start immediately using the sample firmware projects. This includes royalty free USB and TCP/IP stacks (for modules with those ports). Quickly crate custom applications by adding in custom algorithms and control mechanisms. This can save months of development.

Each MX Series module provides the core system resources for today’s embedded products. High-speed communications (ethernet and USB) as well as core memory resources are included on each module. Custom targets can often be implemented using inexpensive 2-layer PCB’s to match the mechanical and low-speed I/O requirements of the particular application. Contact Stratford Digital to have a custom MX target board designed for your specific application.

Pricing and Availability

The PIC24F Educational Module and the Educational Target are available immediately. Single unit prices are $80 and $85 respectively with higher volume discounts available.

PIC24F™ and PIC32MX™ versions of the COM1 communication modules incorporate both ethernet and USB (including OTG) high-speed communication ports.

Future releases will include wireless interfaces like WIFI and Bluetooth™ as well as market-specific off-the-shelf target boards like motor control and lighting. As always, full example application firmware projects will be available for these new modules.

For orders of 50 units or more Stratford Digital will provide a custom configuration to absolutely optimize system cost and power consumption. This includes the exact processor to be populated, external memory size, and other module resources.

See http://www.stratforddigital.com/mx for all the technical details and pricing options.

About Stratford Digital

Founded in 2004, Stratford Digital specializes in electronic design and embedded product development. A network of world-class design partners and a proven development process enable creative solutions to the challenging design problems of our entrepreneurial clients. Reduced time-to-market and engineering costs are delivered by getting the design right the first time. Turnkey product development and engineering design services cover the entire range of embedded technologies including hardware, micro-controller and micro-processor firmware, FPGA and PLD programmable logic, industrial and mechanical design. For more information, visit the Stratford Digital website.

PIC24F™ and PIC32MX™ trademarks are property of Microchip.

Bluetooth™ trademark is property of Bluetooth SIG.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 at 7:39 am and is filed under News.